Starry Eyes // Harry Potter

3 . RETROUVAILLES

Harry stared at Ela, then at Ron, then back to Ela.

"What's going on? Who...who are you?" he asked, his face scrunched up like a ball of paper.

Ron, ever so blunt, replied, "oh, Ela? She's your sister, mate."

Harry froze. Then he shook his head. Slowly.

"No. I don't have a sister. All my family died on that night!" Harry's eyes were wide and scared and Ela was doing all she could not to engulf him with her arms.

In the dim light, she could barely make him out. She'd been shown a few pictures of him by Ron, but this was the first time she'd seen him in the flesh. The first time! Her brother! Her brother was in front of her!

She grinned foolishly. Probably at the wrong time. And Harry probably now thought she was a maniac.

His hair was all over the place. Stark, dark, and messy, from what she could see. The stars shone in his eyes, his glassy green eyes, hopeful and terrified.

"Harry," she uttered. Her smile had vanished now. Ron sat awkwardly between them.

She liked the feel of his name in her mouth. Harry. Harry Potter. Her brother. It felt warm, and soft, and everything she'd ever imagined was now real. Ela held back her tears, and her words turned into felt. As though he could read her mind, Harry smiled softly.

"I never knew I had a sister. Are you... sure?" he asked the brothers.

Fred said, "absolutely positive. You know, I'm glad I was here to witness your reunion. I'm sorry it had to be in a car."

"It's magical," said Ela, looking at the stars and the silky sky out of the window. Harry nodded.

"If I'm honest, you're taking this rather well," George said.

"Well it's not like Harry could bloody storm out of the car if he didn't believe it," Ron scoffed.

"It would be quite a drop," Harry added, grinning, still looking slightly startled. "So, Ela, who do you live with? They'd better be better than the Dursleys, or I'll have words with Dumbledore."

Ela felt a guilty pang in her stomach. Stretching her mouth into a smile, she said, "No, they're lovely. I live with our other aunt and uncle - our mother's brother - our cousin, Charlie, and my brother, Reece."

"And Harry, you'll never guess what! Her adoptive brother is Reece Jenkins," said Ron, a look of excitement on his face.

Harry's jaw dropped. "Blimey. Malfoy's partner in crime is your brother? Well, I have a lot to live up to," he said sarcastically.

"Reece isn't that bad! I'm sorry if he's a bit annoying sometimes - and by annoying, I mean rude, ignorant and inconsiderate - but at least he isn't as bad as Draco, who's just extremely immature if I'm honest. I think Reece will come to his senses in the future." Seeing as his family aren't assholes, thought Ela.

"Oh, you haven't seen him in school - he was alright on the train but a couple of days after he was sorted into Slytherin, he was prancing round Hogwarts with Malfoy like he already owned the place. But yeah, I guess Reece doesn't have a dad like Lucius," added Ron.

"If it makes you feel any better, Ela, it's Malfoy who does most of the hexing - since Reece probably knows I'm your brother, he doesn't really speak to me. That makes sense now," Harry smiled, his eyes glassy. "How come Dumbledore never told me I had a sister?" he said, the thought dawning on him. "How could he keep me in the dark? Hang on - did you know you had a brother?"